Elementary 6.04

[selenak]

Finished both of the Agent Carter stories I wanted to write for ssrconfidential, the assignment and the treat. They're very different from each other but, I fear, rather blatantly by yours truly. More post reveal, as I had great fun writing one and the other distills years of feelings and thoughts on Peggy Carter.

Elementary: No news on the "Does Michael exist or is he a product of Sherlock's mind?" front (and in fact no Michael this week), though Joan mentions she hasn't met him yet. Otoh, the missing girl (whom the audience knows Michael has buried) definitely is real, so there's that. (Again: do not want Jekyll/Hyde plot, so here's hoping it's not that.)

Lin seems to be a more regular guest star this season, and I like that they show us Joan's sisterly relationship with her developing. Otoh I am a bit doubtful about Joan deciding she wants to adopt (or at least consider adopting) after guiltily reading her former therapists notes on herself. That the writers lampshade the clumsiness of the narrative device by letting Lin comment it doesn't help. Now I'm not as dead-set as some vocal fans in many a fandom against children for main characters, nor do I think that becoming a mother automatically robs a female character of interest. And it's refreshing Joan's mind goes to adoption rather than the biological variety of parenthood. But still: she hasn't expressed an interest in having a child for five and a half seasons, so this is really out of nowhere. (Unless you count her sort of adopting Kitty, who was an adult, together with Sherlock.) I suppose you can fanwank it as the next step in that we've always seen Joan as the daughter struggling with her responsibilities/emotions towards her parents - her mother, her biological father, her adoptive father, and also as a sister, so her becoming a parent as the show nears its end (not literally, I heard we'll get a seventh season, but we're definitely in the closing stretch) is a next stage. Well, I'll wait to see the execution.

Case of the week: is "Jane Austen on Ice" really a thing?

Comments

[lookingforoctober]

But if Michael doesn't exist, and therefore an impartial camera showing him is impossible, then what pov is the scene of him digging a grave from? (I.e. seeing his mother was Sherlock's hallucinatory pov, his mother was not real but it was what he was actually perceiving.)

Who believes or perceives that (non-existent) Michael was digging a grave? I don't see how it could be Sherlock's hallucination in this case, when Sherlock wasn't present to see it and shows no signs of knowing about it.

[selenak]

True, if Michael doesn't exist, then that camera pov showing us him burying the girl was cheating (on the show's part). I keep telling myself that. But I won't be entirely at ease until we see Joan interact with him.

[contrary_cal]

If 'on Ice' refers to skating rather than drugs, then if it hasn't happened already it's only a matter of time until it does. Figure skaters will put anything on ice...

[selenak]

Yes, it was a figure skating event. ;) And point taken.

[lookingforoctober]

Yeah, I really hope they aren't cheating like that.

[contrary_cal]

I'm braced for the arrival of Yuri!!! on Ice ON ICE!!! any day now, myself. :) It's bound to happen.

[felis]

I suppose you can fanwank it as the next step in that we've always seen Joan as the daughter struggling with her responsibilities/emotions towards her parents - her mother, her biological father, her adoptive father, and also as a sister, so her becoming a parent ... is a next stage. Well, I'll wait to see the execution.

I like this thematic thought and although I'm side-eyeing the show at the moment, I'm still interested in seeing where they go with the story. And I loved all the scenes between Lin and Joan.

What I found interesting: "You are the most complete person I've ever met." While I think that this statement makes sense from Lin's still limited perspective, the audience has seen a lot more of Joan and we know that she doesn't necessarily feel that way. Helping Shinwell last season was explicitly something she did because she wanted something more positive in her life. The story ended in disaster, but the show picking up this thread makes some sense. The "something" being a kid all of a sudden, well. I can't imagine that they'd add a little kid to the show, but I also don't want yet another thing to turn out badly for her? I do kind of appreciate that they went the adoption route, although to be honest, it also made me wonder how much of that story idea was inspired by Lucy Liu's own life. (And I'm trying to remember how Joan reacted to Kitty's kid last season, but that episode is a blur.)

[selenak]

What I found interesting: "You are the most complete person I've ever met." While I think that this statement makes sense from Lin's still limited perspective, the audience has seen a lot more of Joan and we know that she doesn't necessarily feel that way. Helping Shinwell last season was explicitly something she did because she wanted something more positive in her life.

That's true. And raising a child as a counterpart of constantly dealing with death on a professional level does thematically work, I hadn't considered this aspect. If Joan actually goes through with this, I would speculate the show makes the child not a toddler but someone at least ten or twelve, for practical reasons and because I suspect the child might turn out to be someone who is already in a terrible situation.